


Third and Final Farewell

by laekanik



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 07:53:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5156042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laekanik/pseuds/laekanik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara and the Doctor must part forever. This is their last goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Third and Final Farewell

He hated endings because they were the conclusion of something good and they meant goodbyes. He was rubbish at goodbyes, but he had to make this one count. He owed at least that to her.

"When we...separated, when I left..." he began. "I said something to you. You thanked me for helping you feel special and I said--"

"'Thank you for exactly the same,'" Clara finished, looking down at the ground as she quoted him and then glancing up to meet his weary gaze. He nodded.

"I was wrong...when I said that," he admitted softly. "I may have made you feel special, Clara but saying that you made me feel the exact same way would be an understatement, it would be a lie." He temporarily eyed the ground and drew his bottom lip to his teeth, running his tongue along it, as if preparing it for the following words that would brush across it.

"Clara, you made me feel extraordinary. You made me feel both lucky and blessed. You made me feel like I wasn't alone. You remained my friend when I didn't deserve it and you stayed by my side when I needed it. You made me a better man."

Her gaze on him was unwavering, even as her vision blurred with tears. But she did not blink. Her moments with him were limited. She would not lose sight of him. She would not let the tears fall.

"I thought that you were going to drive me mad at times. You nearly did--"

"Shut up," she whispered, ever so slightly shaking her head before clearing the distance between them in nearly two seconds flat. She looped an arm around his neck, kissing his jaw, then his cheek before securing the other one around him.

She buried her face in his shoulder as he tightly wrapped his arms around her, nearly lifting her off the ground. He felt her tears on his neck and moved one of his hands to her hair. Her soft, brown, short hair that he often disparaged but secretly loved so much because it was _hers_.

"Come now," he murmured as he felt a sob wriggle out of her body. He pushed her away so he could see her face which was now trembling and covered in tear tracks. Her hands gripped his shoulders and his rested on her neck, his thumbs brushing her jaw.

"No more of that," he said gently as he wiped a tear away and she released a shuddering sigh. "Chin up, shoulders back. I've seen what we're made of, you and I, and it was fantastic."

She let out what seemed to be the cross of a chuckle and a sob. "I don't want this to have to happen," she whimpered, one of her hands temporarily leaving his shoulder to wipe her cheek and nose. "I'm not ready to let you go." Her voice broke and her lips trembled as fresh tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh, Clara," he sighed, her name slightly rumbled in his throat. "My Clara." He held her face and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes and swallowed a fresh sob. "And I don't want you to," he murmured against her skin. He leaned back to look at her face again. He never wanted to stop. "I want you to remember me. Remember us. Remember what we did. What we went through together. That way I'll stay."

He tapped her temple with his middle finger. "Memory is a gift," he said. "Use it every day. Remember when you were my companion, Clara Oswald because you were spectacular." His finger remained on her temple and the rest of his hand followed it onto her face, gently holding the curve of her cheek. His thumb brushed away another stray tear as their eyes bore into one another as if they were trying to carve each other's faces into their memory.

Then abruptly he removed his hand and turned away towards the TARDIS, leaving her looking desolate but at the same time repairable and resigned. When he opened the door and stood in the threshold of the blue flying box, she called his name. He hesitated with his back to her, thinking that this felt too much like their seperation outside the cafe. And that was unwise to think about because in retrospect, that goodbye was a temporary one, as was their one after the moon. This goodbye, their third goodbye, would be their last. His heart twisted painfully and he closed his eyes, steeling himself.

He slowly turned to her, their gazes meeting again, unspoken words passing between them. Her face said what her mouth never could. She had promised Danny after all. His blue eyes filled with understanding and reciprocation and he nodded, the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly.

Warmth filled her and they shared one last lingering look before he turned away and closed the door. She took a step back as the TARDIS began to wheeze and fade in and out. She bit her lip as it began to tremble. She loved that sound, she loved that box, where it took her, and the man that piloted it.

The light on top of the blue machine turned on and then off as if the TARDIS was saying goodbye as well. Perhaps she was. Clara forced a smile and held up her hand in farewell until it faded completely out of sight and out of her life.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before series 9 after hearing about Clara's inevitable departure. This goodbye is a happy one though compared to the one that Moffat's got cooked up, I know that for certain. I was thinking a lot about the goodbye in Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium while writing this except slightly more angsty and romantic. Anyone else terrified for all future Doctor Who episodes? Me too.


End file.
